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Program to boost auto tech revs up

The next big thing in automotive technology could be developed in Spring Hill with help from an entrepreneurial accelerator program.

The AutoXLR8R program is a 13-week endeavor sponsored by the Southern Middle Tennessee Entrepreneur Centers. The program focuses on identifying, commercializing and funding high-potential automotive technologies in a short amount of time.

A panel discussion about the program was held Wednesday at the Northfield Workforce Development and Conference Center.

About 10 companies are participating in the program that helps connect entrepreneurs with commercialization experts, business people and investors. Program participants hail from Tennessee, Alabama, Florida and California.

The start-up companies receive $20,000 to launch their venture and have access to a network of industry experts — or mentors.

Of the 10 companies, seven are Tennessee-based, AutoXLR8R Executive Director Dan Marcum said. AutoXLR8R is funded by mixture of public and private partners.

“I try to characterize it as taking an idea and transforming that idea into an investable story,” Marcum said. “(The entrepreneurs) have good ideas, but they don’t know necessarily what to do with them.”

One company, Ecoviate of Texas, is working on a product that would bolt to a vehicle’s exhaust pipe and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Param Jaggi, Ecoviate founder and chief executive officer, is currently attending Vanderbilt University.

“I have learned a lot about the entire process of taking technology from the launch phase into the market,” Jaggi said.

Another company, Graphenics of Alabama, is developing graphene — a super-strong material that is also lightweight.

Green Dot Charging of California is creating a wireless charging system for electric vehicles. Mach Fuels of Chattanooga is seeking to create propane and natural gas conversion kits that would offer fleet vehicles a cheaper fuel source.

Marcum is also affiliated with Tullahoma-based Nest-TN, an early-stage venture capital fund that provided about half the money for the program. The organization is partially funded by TNInvestco, a state program that also provides capital for small start-up businesses.

Only the Tennessee-based entrepreneurs can receive Nest-TN money. The others are funded by private investments. The participants give partial ownership of their companies — which could reach 10 percent — in exchange for seed money.

Marcum said Tennessee is an automotive leader and innovator, in part because the state is home to Nissan, General Motors and Volkswagen operations.

The AutoXLR8R program provides entrepreneurs access to industry experts who help them develop their product.

“We are not going to make an unsuccessful company successful,” Marcum said. “We will either help them fail sooner, faster or we will accelerate their success.”

The participants also develop networks with public and private investors across the state. These partnerships will hopefully encourage entrepreneurs to create their product in Tennessee, Marcum said.

“If one company is really successful, and all of a sudden it’s a 1,000-employee company,” Brewer said. “A 1,000-employee company is $20-25 million in payroll a year and sometimes even more, and that doesn’t include all the economic effect of it.”

Jack Sisk, AutoXLR8R program director, said the entrepreneurs will go on a “Tech Tour” throughout the Southeast where they will meet technical associates, venture capitalists and other investors. Participants will visit South Carolina, The Oak Ridge National Laboratory, The University of Alabama and Eastman Chemical company in Kingsport.

On Aug. 7, Northfield will host a demonstration day for participants to pitch their products to potential investors. Some will move to a state demo day at the end of August.

While at Northfield, the young entrepreneurs can network with each other. Some have combined their ideas and are working on products with multi-platform applications, Sisk said.

“The energy in that room is incredible,” Sisk said. “I almost get chill bumps from talking about it.”

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